In 1492, Christopher Columbus makes his first trip to the New World, on the island of San Salvador to the east of the Bahamas. Having observed shallow lagoons, He says: « baja mar » which means «shallow», and so named the Bahamas, the islands of shallow water.
The Bahamas has approximately 300 000 habitants, out of which 69 % live on Providence Island where the capital Nassau is situated. The second city of the archipelago is Freeport, situated on the island of Grand Bahama.
The islands of the Bahamas are mainly flat, the highest point being 206 feet. The Bahamas has some of the clearest lagoons in the world, with an underwater visibility of 200 feet. Currently 5 % of the world coral is in the waters of the Bahamas.